last week, we were reminded again of the important work journalists do in their communities, breaking stories that affect Ohioans. We know what comes out of the White House, as the President calls journalists and reporters enemies of the people. Last Wednesday, I saw something again to underscore and illustrate how wrong that is. The Chillicothe Gazette--a town 50 miles south of Columbus--reported that 28 people at an Ohio correctional institution were sent to the hospital after being exposed to a mysterious substance, prison guards and inmates alike. The reporters talked to the Ohio Highway Patrol. They were able to confirm that the incident began when an inmate began showing signs of an overdose. They learned that more than 20 staff members had potentially been exposed and were sent to a hospital for treatment. They reported that some received the drug naloxone, which is used to reverse an overdose. After investigating, the reporters at the Chillicothe Gazette were able to confirm that it was fentanyl-laced heroin that sent workers to the hospital. Reporters talked with one corrections officer who told them: We were trying to keep up with everything. It was a form of controlled chaos. The journalists at the Gazette did what good reporters do in a rapidly unfolding incident like this one: They talked to witnesses. They reached out to the institutions involved. They established a hotline.…
On the recordSeptember 4, 2018
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